Tokyo Xanadu’s Battle System Detailed

A new bunch of screenshots courtesy of Tokyo Xanadudeveloper Falcom have shown off the first details of the upcoming JRPG’s Battle System.

First of all the Soul Devices system has been revealed, and the official details of this are as follows; Soul Devices are special armaments that “The Qualified,” those with ties to the Other World can make manifest. Coming in myriad forms, no two Soul Devices are alike. Specially made up of spirit particles and materials from the Other World, it’s effective at dealing damage to the Greed, as normal physical attacks otherwise do little to them.

Following on from that, the basics of combat have also been detailed, these include normal attacks, shooting attacks, ariel skills, standard skills and power skills, check out the full information on these below.

Combat Overview

Normal Attacks

The most basic of all combat moves, Standard Attacks are up close and personal, with well-timed button presses enabling players to pull off attack chains. As each character relies on the Soul Devices to attack Greed and each Soul Device is different in terms of things such as attack speed and range, each character has a distinct feel when controlled.

Kou – Kou’s Soul Device is Anchor Gear, a sword whip, with the bladed edge being broken up and split across the length of the weapon. When attacking, its swings come in wide arcs and encircle him, making him effective at hitting enemies from a wide range.

Asuka – Asuka’s Soul Device takes the shape of one-handed sword, its natural focus being the slicing and dicing of enemies. In comparison to Kou, Asuka’s Soul Device affords her less range, which she more than makes up for with a good amount of power and speed coupled with few windows of opportunity to be struck back, making it easy for her to stay on the offensive once she gets going.

Sora – Sora’s Soul Device visually resembles something akin to a gauntlet. Though her attack range is especially short, she compensates with her sheer speed and relentless barrage of attacks. Uniquely, she’s also able to mix in kicks as part of her attack chains as well.

Skills

In addition to Normal Attacks, each character has three types of special Skills at their disposal that they can dispense during combat, namely Shooting Skills, Aerial Skills, and Power Skills. Each one of these consumes a set amount of the SP Gauge, with the gauge itself recharging automatically, allowing players to worry less about conserving SP and more staying on top of the enemy.

Shooting Skills

Shooting Skills are meant to be used as long-distance attacks, shooting out energy from a character’s Soul Device and hitting targets from afar. Though weaker than Standard Attacks in isolation, they can be shot rapid fire to a limited degree, enabling players to maintain a safe distance from the enemy as they fight.

Kou: Stinger – Energy shoots out from Kou’s extended Soul Device.

Asuka: Splash Arrow – Arrows made of energy generate in mid-air and shoot at the Greed. Unlike Kou and Sora, she can shoot two Splash Arrows at a time.

Sora: Hayate-ken – Energy built up inside Sora’s Soul Device shoots forth from her fists. When used repeatedly, energy shoots out of both her left and right hands.

Aerial Skills

Aerial Skills are dash attacks that can be executed mid-air and are equally effective either as a way of exploiting an opening or for going after Greed that hang around up in the air. Landing an Aerial Skill on a Greed directly in front of a character can result in multiple hits being dealt in the ensuing attack, racking up lots of damage in a timely manner. The sheer swiftness of Aerial Skills also make them ideal as evasive maneuvers when things turn hairy.

Kou: Anchor Slide – Kou’s Anchor Gear retracts into him, with the recoil propelling him forward in a vigorous slide.

Asuka: Blizzard Pierce – An ice cold aura encircles Asuka as she flies straight at the enemy, piercing them. Any enemies that touch her aura along the line get dealt damage as well.

Sora: Tenshou Ashi – Sora takes a great leap forward in the air with a sharp kick that slices through the air at great speed.

Power Skills

Power Skills are strong special moves that can be triggered by holding down the square button. Though they’re powerful enough to take out standard Greed in one hit, they have significant wind-up times, providing openings a plenty to get hit if used recklessly.

Kou: Rounded Edge – Kou swings out his extended sword whip and spins it around, hitting any and all enemies that have the misfortune of being in its range. Though the wind-up time is considerable, it has a greater overall reach than Asuka and Sora’s Power Skills and is capable of hitting enemies behind him, as well.

Asuka: Crystal Sword – Asuka holds her Soul Device high up in the air and swings it forward in one fell swoop straight in front of her, dealing massive damage if any enemies get caught in it. The swing leaves a trail of crystals in its wake, making it possible to land multiple hits.

Sora: Raigougeki – Sora builds up power in her right fist before unleashing it in front of her with a thunderous boom. Out of the three characters, Sora’s Power Skill is the strongest of the bunch, potentially able to mete out a hefty amount of damage to enemy Greed.

Tokyo Xanadu is set to launch in Japan later this year, with not even an echo of a potential western release date, be sure to check out some new screenshots of the game below and make sure you stay tuned to The Vita Lounge for further updates.

Vita enthusiast and once declared as 'Champion of the Vita', Liam's love for Sony's handheld know's no bounds. He's happy playing most Vita titles and most recently found himself enjoying indie titles, but will totally give you a good run for your money in any beat-em-up